Film Review
Le Fantôme du Moulin-Rouge was the first feature-length film
that René Clair directed and, whilst it is hardly a classic, it shows
something of the imaginative flair and uninhibited sense of fun of the two
noteworthy shorts he made prior to this -
Entr'acte (1924) and
Paris qui dort (1925).
A somewhat messy mix of melodrama and fantasy (which draws on such influences
as
Frankenstein,
The Invisible Man,
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
and
Dr Jeyll and Mr Hyde), this early Clair offering has precious
little of the sophistication of his subsequent great films but it rewards
with its scattergun humour and careless eccentricity.
Georges Méliès was presumably a strong influence on Clair for
this film and the other zany flights of fancy he went on around this time,
including his next fantasy fest,
Le Voyage imaginaire
(1926). Superimposition and other camera trickery are employed with
gay abandon when the film's protagonist, a respectable businessman turned
mischievous sprite (Georges Vaultier) goes on a humour spree around Paris,
leaving a trail of laugh-out-loud visual gags in his wake. Clair is
clearly far more interested in the special effects and their comic potential
than the story - the plot is a fairly mundane melodrama that goes a bit bananas
around the mid-point, and the characters are all pretty well stock archetypes
played with no real enthusiasm by actors who seem to be unaware this is a
comedy.
Only an exhaustingly energetic Albert Préjean seems to be enjoying
himself - with his penchant for climbing up walls, jumping from great heights
and scrapping with any lowlife that comes his way he could easily be mistaken
for Spider Man. At the time, Préjean was a virtual unknown,
soon to become a big star after appearing in Clair's subsequent
Sous les toits de Paris
(1930).
Le Fantôme du Moulin-Rouge's biggest name was
its lead actress Sandra Milovanoff, made famous by her leading roles in Louis
Feuillade's
L'Orpheline (1921) and
Parisette (1921).
The other notable cast member is the character actor Maurice Schutz - remembered
for his appearances in such films as Jean Epstein's
Mauprat (1926), Carl Dreyer's
Vampyr (1932) and Jacques Becker's
Goupi main rouges (1943).
In
Le Fantôme du Moulin-Rouge, René Clair shows himself
to be more a wildly enthusiastic than seriously competent filmmaker, apparently
more interested in making a film for his own amusement than a cinemagoing
public. The lively sequence in the Moulin-Rouge is one of the most
self-indulgent in his entire oeuvre but it captures the decadence and
joie-de-vivre
of the era brilliantly. With experience gained in more conventional
genres, Clair would make some more successful excursions into the fantasy
genre in later years -
The
Ghost Goes West (1935),
I Married a Witch (1942)
and
La Beauté du diable
(1950).
© James Travers 2016
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next René Clair film:
Le Voyage imaginaire (1926)
Film Synopsis
Julien Boissel, a prominent Parisian businessman, is madly in love with Yvonne,
the daughter of a former minister of state, Victor Vincent. Unfortunately,
Yvonne has another suitor, in the form of Monsieur Gauthier, the editor of
one of the city's most widely read and disreputable newspapers.
Gauthier claims to have in his possession documents that will bring scandal
to the Vincents and threatens to publish these if Yvonne does not consent
to be his wife. Victor advises his daughter not to see Julien again
until his differences with Gauthier have been resolved. Feeling bereft,
Julien accepts an invitation from his cousin Jacqueline to spend an evening
with her at the Moulin-Rouge. Here, clearly uninterested by the distractions
on offer, he is closely observed by Dr Robini, an eminent brain specialist.
Robini is convinced he has discovered a way to draw the spirit out of the
body of a human being and return it, without any harm to the subject.
He believes that Julien might be an ideal guinea pig for his experiments...
Over the ensuing weeks, strange phenomenon take place over Paris, with inanimate
objects seemingly moving of their own accord. Julien is too fond of
his newfound freedom as a disembodied spirit to return to his body, and so,
when his lifeless body is discovered, Dr Robini is arrested for his murder.
On hearing of Gauthier's plan to force the Yvonne to marry him, Julien raids
the editor's offices and steals the incriminating papers. Realising
how much Yvonne truly loves him, he decides he would like to be reunited
with his body, but without Robini's help this cannot happen! Disgraced
by the murder charge, the doctor refuses to help Julien. Knowing that
his body is about to be subjected to a post mortem at any moment, Julien
must resort to desperate measures to win Robini around and prevent his beloved
Yvonne from being forced into matrimony with a scoundrel...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.